GASTRO GAMES ON ITS WAY TO YOU
11-11-05

The VCU SportsCenter prides itself on the real world experience that its students receive throughout the year. Students gain this experience by creating projects and developing ideas that are assigned by the SportsCenter staff. Our action learning group has the pleasure of designing and programming an eating competition that we refer to as the Gastro Games.

As a group, we are able to choose the direction of the project. The success or failure of the Gastro Games completely depends on our work ethic. This is a part of the SportsCenter we enjoy. Besides sitting in classrooms and learning from lectures, we are able to learn through real hands-on experience.

The nature of our project has progressed to our main goal, to take the Gastro Games to every CAA school during the basketball season. From Northeastern to Georgia State, we are aiming to conduct a campus tour promoting the VCU SportsCenter while having an eating contest at halftime during CAA basketball games. Upon completion of the campus tour, we intend to have a final championship at the Richmond Coliseum during the CAA tournament on Saturday, March 4, 2006. Winners from each school will be invited to participate in the finale for various prizes and recognition. What we hope to accomplish by visiting these schools is to raise awareness of the SportsCenter and to increase enrollment. This project is a new and progressive marketing venture that is under the control of the students.

The SportsCenter graduate program is great training for the real world and teaches us how to work within a group setting. The Gastro Games is just one example of the creative freedom that is endorsed. We are also currently planning a second project, the corporate games, which is a team building event for Richmond area corporations. We plan on having teams participate in a series of relay races and other competitions while promoting leadership and teamwork. This event is scheduled for the Spring of 2006.

By: Philip Brown, Krista Carson, LaTanja Jones, Ronnie Neal, Chris Parker, Mike Voyack